So that favorite movie of yours? We’re going to ruin it. If this troubles you then you shouldn’t read any further. What follows are five stories that occurred during the making of some very popular movies, some considered childhood classics, that are so wretched and awful that they may ruin the movies for viewers. We guarantee you won’t watch the movies the same way again.
#5 – Mary Poppins and Forrest Gump
The author of the Mary Poppins series of books, P.L. Travers, created one of the most iconic characters in cinema. She was less than impressed with the version that Disney turned out. Travers was never happy with the idea of an adaptation from the get-go and was promised script approval in order to get the deal made.
In spite of this Travers was unhappy with the exclusion of some characters, the animated sequences and the fact that the title character was made much nicer. Travers’ reportedly wept through the premiere of the movie.
A similar issue arose during Forrest Gump with author Winston Groom unhappy with the sex and profanities being stripped out, and taking away the ‘rough edges’ he felt we integral to the story. He was also unhappy with the casting, envisioning the character being played by John Goodman. When the studio tried to dodge paying him his agreed upon percentage by claiming the movie didn’t turn a profit he sued them. The cast and crew failed to mention him once during their Oscar acceptance speeches.
#4 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
There’s a happy story between two of the actors on this film. Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward, who play Ferris’ parents, met on set and later married in real life.
Now for the crappy story that ruins the movie for you. Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey play brother and sister in the film but in real life they were dating. During production they took a holiday to Ireland. During this holiday their hired BMW collided with another vehicle, killing both the occupants in the other car. Although Broderick ‘conceded’ that he ‘may’ have been driving on the wrong side of the road, but both he and Grey claimed to have no memory of the incident when dealing with the authorities. Being the only surviving witnesses the only charge that could be brought was reckless driving. Friends of the actor have said that he remans haunted by the incident to this day.
Also the actor who plays Principal Rooney is a registered sex offender. Try not to think about that when he’s stalking children in the movie.
Remember the bit when he says “your ass is mine”?
#3 – Home Alone
Anyone who’s seen Joe Pesci in Goodfellas and Casino you might think twice before casting him alongside children, especially if you want him to intimidate the children in question. While playing Harry in Home Alone he needed to be a convincing villain of the very young Macaulay Culkin and during one scene he got a bit carried away. When biting the child’s finger he bit hard enough to leave a permanent scar. WHAT THE HELL DID HE DO THAT FOR?!
#2 – Singin’ in the Rain
Few movies carry with it such an unbridled sense of glee as cinema’s most famous musical. Gene Kelly mastered singing and dancing on the stage before becoming a famed actor and director on the screen. He was a renowned workaholic, putting in up 18 hours of filming dance scenes each day.
Debbie Reynolds, on the other hand, was a 20 years old newcomer with no dance experience. Gene Kelly didn’t see this as any reason why she shouldn’t match his output and forced her through the same routines, shouting insults at her all the while. Not wanting to lose her first acting job she did the best she could and would usually finish the day with the soles of her feet bleeding. One day Fred Astaire visisted the set and found Reynolds hiding under a piano, crying.
And just to ruin the finale when Debbie Reynolds’ character is providing the singing voice for Jean Hagen’s, the voice you hear is actually Hagen’s. Reynolds’ voice wasn’t ‘classy’ enough.
Sweet, sweet irony.
#1 – The Wizard of Oz
Most people have heard the rumor about a suicidal dwarf actor glimpsed swinging from a tree in the background, but without any real confirmation that it happened we’re ignoring it. Instead we’re going to ruin The Wizard of Oz by telling you about the physical, psychological and sexual abuse suffered by Judy Garland during production.
Garland was not the first actor approached for the role, only getting it when Shirley Temple fell through, and she was the second lowest paid worker on the film with Toto (or ‘Terry’ as she was known) ranking lower. Louis B. Mayer of MGM would insist the 16-year-old sit on his lap during meetings and ‘fatherly advice’ sessions (as he often did with young actresses) and openly fondled her breasts. He even went as far as inviting his colleagues to do the same. The open sexual abuse continued on set as the frequently drunk and raucous Munchkins propositioning her and pinching her ass.
Whilst MGM recognised Garland’s immense talent they didn’t think she had the looks to carry a major production. Being only 4’11” and suffering from a curved spine that left her slightly hunched over, the studio went to extreme lengths to change her appearance. Mayer would refer to her as ‘my little hunchback’, even to her face, and had her teeth capped, nose reconstructed and kept her on a routine of corsets and massages to rework her torso. She was fed Benzedrene tablets to keep her weight down, and the stress of the treatments on top of workload lead to the producers giving her alternating doses of uppers and downers. The drugs resulted her Garland suffering from giggling fits on set that interfered in filming. Director Victor Fleming would frequently slap her in the face to keep her mind on the job.
To cap it all off Garland was much more developed than the 12 year old character she was playing, so the producers had the costume department tightly and painfully bind her chest. They had little qualms about discussing this on set in front of Garland and the rest of the cast and crew, pointing out her breasts if they were showing.
Judy Garland’s life turned in to a dependence on prescription medications and a string of male and female lovers. Her controlling mother took most of her income in her early years. By all indications she never overcame the abuse she suffered during her break-out role, and she eventually succumbed to an over-dose.
